Lacrimosa
by MarquisObsurite
Summary: After months of looking for him... She returned home, but sadly she kept looking, despite her fellow compatriots wishes not to. Part 2 of the To Let Go series.
1. Lacrimosa dies illa

To let go part 2

It has been months since Pearl suspended her search for Steven, all to simply stop Peridot and her robonoids. Funny thing was, before Garnet came to take her back, she had heard of the incoming Homeworld Gem from the national news at one of Atlas City's bars. She figured that the remaining Crystal Gems could take care of her, but when Garnet came to take her back to the temple, she was proven wrong. Now here she was, stuck at the temple waiting for Peridot to make her move, and yet nothing happened. No robonoids attack, no invasion from any Homeworld Gems, nothing but normality... well as normality will be to an extraterrestrial polymorphic sentient space rock that has a habit of smoking like a furnace and drinking with the thirst of a dehydrated man from the hottest desert would be. And yet, despite preparing for any activity from Peridot,and hanging out with Greg and training Connie. She slowly couldn't shake the feeling of guilt for suspending her search, it was at first bearable, but as time goes by she could feel the guilt begin to weigh upon her bit by bit, until she couldn't bare it anymore. She began secretly to search for clues for Steven within Beach City and the neighboring Ocean Town, Only to return back at the temple, with nothing but disappointment and the stench of alcohol. Oddly enough, the few people who noticed Pearl's activities tend to ignore them, not wanting to cause any stress on her.

Later on, as the leaves begin to change color, Amethyst tried to get her fellow Gems to be 'closer' by using the human holidays as an excuse. It at first appeared to show some progress, with both Garnet and Pearl having an actual conversation with each other at Halloween. As Thanksgiving came along, their feast which include Greg, seem to be a success, as Pearl and Garnet seemed to enjoy each other's company, as though nothing ever happened. Sadly when Christmas came, Pearl was missing for first half of the holiday, only to return in the afternoon with the stench of burnt tobacco and alcohol, it would seem that she had decided to search for Steven that day of all days. At first neither Amethyst nor Garnet dare spoke a word as Pearl sulkingly walk by them, it was only when Pearl was about to enter her room, that Garnet found her voice,

"where were you?" she demanded of Pearl.

Pearl simply glanced emptily at Garnet, before turning back to the Crystal gate, and heading towards her room. This simple response angered Garnet, with her response being marching towards the gate, and activated it to head towards Pearl's room.

Upon entering Pearl's room, she could see Pearl simply sitting down among the central waterfalls surface, smoking and hopelessly staring at the ceiling. Garnet froze for a moment before leaving the room, knowing it would be useless to even talk to pearl in this state.

The next couple weeks before New Year's, caused more strain within the Crystal Gems more particularly between Garnet and Pearl. Their response to each other presence over the weeks began from short conversations to utter avoidance of each other. All of which broke the hope of their shortest member, who dream of having a united team, a united family as before.

When New Year's came, each member of the Crystal Gems observed the holiday on their own ways. For Amethyst it was to simply enjoy the celebrations with her fellow human friends. For Garnet, it was simply fighting any corrupted gem she has a chance to. As for Pearl she choose to look for any clues of Steven over the entire only to return back to one of the local bars drinking away her sorrows. As Pearl returns back to Beach House, just to find an angry Garnet waiting for her.

"Where were you!" Garnet demand of Pearl, with anger seeping from her voice.

Pearl simply ignored her and tried to walk past her, only for Pearl to be yanked back by Garnet, with the same question being asked.

"Looking for Steven... Is that wrong to do Garnet? Is it so wrong to try and look for him?" Pearl asked in a deadpanned voice, not even trying to look Garnet in the eye.

"It's not wrong, but it's what you do after finding nothing that is wrong, the drinking and smoking." Garnet responded to her.

"Your one to talk, you're so focus on hunting down corrupted gems, that you always go head first in a suicidal charge. If you want to lecture, then go ahead, but don't act like you have the moral high ground." Pearl spat back at her, before walking past her, to get to her room. Only to be stopped by Garnet's hand grasping her her arm tightly.

"What did you say?" Garnet demanded at Pearl harshly, as though aggravated by Pearl's words. Unfortunately Pearl didn't see the danger she was in, only irked by Garnet's not-so subtle aggression towards her.

"You heard me, you have right to tell me, what I can an-" Pearl's rant was interrupted when Garnet's gauntleted fist came in connect with Pearls face, sending Pearl directly towards the Crystal Gate's door. At first both were shocked by the taller gem's action, Garnet was the first snapping out of her shock and tried to apologize to Pearl, but sadly no words came out of her mouth. As the thinner gem, activated the Gate, and went to her room, leaving Garnet alone wallowing in her self-loathing.

As for Pearl, when she enter her room, she went to the tallest fountain in her room, and silently watched the water flowing by...

How idiotic of her to not see that punch coming, How dare she say those things to Garnet of all people... How dare she secretly search for Steven behind her compatriots back... only to give up entirely for the human's viceful pleasures. Damn it she could barely stand the sight of her own reflection... Her reflection... Reflection... Like a mirror.

With the quickest of her abilities she summoned the Mirror, and stared at it hopefully, before saying:

"Show me... Steven"

 **A/N: I am sorry for the major delay for this piece, this piece was close to completion for part 2, but unfortunately my editor was away for vacation, and I was preoccupied in my College life and busy campaigning for the elections, and also experiencing some... Family drama. Anyways there will be a part 3 coming along.**


	2. Memory of What Was

**To Let Go part 3: Memory of What Was**

 **A/N: First I would like to thank fellow author Pinheadh78, for helping me polish this chapter. Also I would like to recommend anyone reading this to go read his magnificent story "** _ **Pearl in WWII",**_ **it has great pacing, the story is very well written, and finally for history buff like me, it provides historical snippet. Well on with the tale...**

" _Sometimes you have to learn to let go of person you love, and just hold on to the Memory of what was" -Mark Amend_

"Show me Steven, again"

"..."

"Show me Steven...please"

"..."

"Show me Steven... I'm begging you"

"Hey Pearl, Look! My fingers are Cats!...Meow. Hahaha see aren't they cute?"

Pearl simply smiled as the mirror finally complied with her wishes. She was, for the first in a long time, happy. Perhaps it was being able hear and see her precious little "baby", or perhaps this mirror is giving her what she asked for as a brief relief from the reality: that Steven will never be found.

"Alright Find me Steven when he was a-"

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, the Crystal gate opened suddenly, quickly hid the mirror in her gem not wanting the new arrival to see it. She turned around to see who was entering, her eyes were met with the familiar form of Amethyst standing on the warp-pad staring back at her. Neither one willing to break eye contact or daring to break the silence for fear of breaking an illusion. They stayed this way until almost an hour had passed until one of them decided to break the silence.

"So P, are we to just keep awkwardly staring at each or are we going to do something?" Amethyst said.

Pearl responded

"Yeah, sorry about that... So..."

"So?"

"Umm... how are you Amethyst?"

"Fine and you?"

"Oh fine... Fine."

"..."

The silence had returned once more, as the pair continued to stare at each other. Neither again wanting to speak.

"Amethyst"

"Yes?"

"You want to hang out?"

"..."

Amethyst paused, not expecting Pearl to ask her such a question, and for a moment she thought to say no, and yet part of her wanted to know what had happened to the the pale gem during her search of Steven.

"Hmmmm sure why not"

"Great!" Pearl's voice boomed enthusiastically. And before Amythest could even react, she was dragged out towards Pearl's motorcycle.

"Wooh Pearl, Slow down I'm not going anywhere,"

"I know, I know it's just..." Pearl's voice seemed to cut off, as though she silenced herself before mentioning something that hurt her..or perhaps reminds of her of the past.

Without a word both of them got on Pearl's motorcycle and drove towards the Beach City's boardwalk.

They saw many attractions on the boardwalk, mainly restaurants and the amusement park, trying to regain the connection of commadrie that was lost long ago. Though there was one thing that caught Amethyst's eye, it was the Mayor Dewey's van. She could even hear the Van's speakers repetitious motto. She looked at it with bemusement before looking back at Pearl.

"Hey Pearl in any of the places you went, did any of the people try to pull anything this outrageous"

Pearl looking at the same van before replying "For a matter fact yes, in fact some even tried something even more outlandish, it was a small truck with two large animatronics of different monsters on it, one a large Mantis, the other some kind of Lizard, both in some battle... though it was more for an upcoming movie and not something important such as re-election for an official in some local government"

"So.. you're telling me that mayor Dewey is the only..mayor to.."

"Place his head on an van to get re-elected and chant his name in a annoying melody of his name? Then yes." Pearl joked

"..."

There was a silent pause, before both of them laughed awkwardly.

"You wanna to go play Skee Ball, at the arcade, P?"

Pearl eyes widened upon hearing her old nickname, she could feel her mouth forming a smile, before nodding her head. And with that, both of them went to the arcade.

As they played the games together, both could feel their old friendship being rekindled. Pearl could feel some of the stress that plagued her over the time she searched for Steven beginning to lift away. They continued to play the other attractions, until the arcade closed late in the evening.

"So remember when I was thrown at the Red Eye repeatedly?" inquired Amethyst shyly.

"Yeah, what were we even thinking? That repeated minimal force would damage it, that's silly." Pearl replied, while trying to take out a cigarette carton, with one hand picking up a single cigarette and guiding it towards her lips. Amethyst watched from afar, frowning at what was Pearl what was doing.

"Say P... I've been wondering when did you start smoking?"

"hmmm ... I don't know... I think it happened around the couple days I've been at Empire City..."

"Wait you been to Empire City? What did you do over there... well you know besides looking for Steven"

"Huh, Amethyst I really don't like to talk about it... can you please not push this any deeper."

"Alright... I'll stop P."

"It's fine Amethyst, it's just there are some memories that I'd rather no-" but Pearl's reply was cut short, as she felt a small tug on her arm.

"Excuse me... Miss, but can you spare some change for me?" a frail voice asked her. Her eyes widened as she saw the person who tugged at her; it was young sickly child wearing worn clothing, their face reminded her of the many children in the similar circumstances, the many she tried to help... the many she failed to save.

"O-Of course... Here you go" she stammered as her hands quickly searched in each of her pockets trying to find any cash on her and give it to the frail child. And yet before the child left, she pulled the child into a hug.

"Listen... child if you need any help or need a place to stay, please come to the beach house at the outskirts of this city... it's near the giant statue at the cliff." She told the child as she let go. The child simply nodded and went on hisway. Getting up, Pearl simply lit her cigarette, before turning towards Amethyst, who was perplexed by the scene unfolding towards her

"Let's go back home" Pearl whispered in a broken tone, as she began walking towards the motorcycle, her shoulder's slumped and her eyes down as she tried to conceal a sudden wave of sadness.

Amethyst simply frowned. " _What was That?!"_ she wondered as she followed after her old friend. A dozen other questions arose but she dared not give them voice for fear of Pearl reverting back to her previous state of avoiding them at all costs.

The ride back to their house was completely silent, neither of them daring to speak a single word. As they arrived at the beach house, Pearl simply walked towards the Crystal Gate, and opened the portal leading towards her room. Yet before she could enter her room, she felt Amethyst arms curling around her halting her mid stride. She could feel Amethyst hugging her tightly as if Pearl would vanish again if she let go.

"I know that look when you're upset... but P if there is anything bothering you please... I'm here." Amethyst said trying comfort Pearl, her voice a mix of fear and sadness.

Seconds ticked by as Pearl struggled with what to say, part of her wanted to vent her sorrows while another, stronger voice, urged her to keep it inside, to simply bury the pain deeper. "There is nothing to talk about Amethyst, Nothing at all." She said in a broken tone, before entering her room, but before the Gate closed she heard Amethyst call out to her in a last desperate attempt to get through to her friend. "What happened to you P?"

"... A lot of things, a lot of things" She replied to no one as the door slid closed behind her. Pearl took one last look at the door, before laying on the watery floor and staring at the ceiling. The memories of her travels and experiences of searching for Steven had filled her thoughts, most importantly her experience with the abandoned children out there in the town. She recalled some of the faces that haunted her, and of course the condition of living they were in, how could a society let those youth be abandoned, while others get to live in abundance? Didn't they even care about their youths? Then again, she too abandoned most of them to look for Steven... Yes she helped some of them to find some place better than they were, but most of them that needed her... she failed or left behind. But she needed to find Steven...

Sighing She waved those thoughts away and reached within her gem for the Mirror. She took a moment to look upon her own reflection and the face of an emotionally exhausted woman staring back at her with eyes full of pain and sadness..

"Show Me Steven." she commanded in a pained voice just barely above a whisper.

"..."

"Show me Steven" she ordered more forcefully when the mirror didn't respond.

"..."

"Come on you did it before" she growled in building frustration, her emotional walls starting to crack.

"..."

"Please...Please...I beg of you I'll give anything to see him again." cried Pearl in defeat as the tears she'd been holding back began to fall as she crumpled to her knees as great heaving sobs wracked her body.

"...Anything" The Mirror repeated, as though questioning her on her plea.

The unexpected reply served to jerk her back to the present, her pain momentarily forgotten as she sat up and wiped away the tears with her jacket sleeve.

"Wha..." She was awe-struck did this mirror really asked her this... Was it sentient? No impossible, maybe it was broken, yes broken.

"Did-You-Said-Anything-If-So-Help-Me-And-I-WILL-Help-You" The Mirror said using various recordings of herself, Steven, Amethyst, and Garnet.

"w-what ...Are you sentient?" gasped Pearl as she held the mirror at arms length as if it might bite her.

"Yes-I-Am-Sentient" replied the now surprisingly talkative mirror.

"Impossible, I need to show this to Garnet" Pearl said frantically as she stood up to walk towards the temple gate.

"NOOOOOOO! " The Mirror screeched causing her to flinch and stop walking.

"Remember-what-She-Did!' The mirror continued as it showed Pearl of the incident of the last confrontation of her and Garnet's argument which resulted in her getting punched by Garnet's gauntleted fist. All due to her being to focused on finding Steven.

"If- You- Tell- Her- She- Will- Demand- Why- Didn't- You- Tell- Her- Sooner- Your- Response- Will- Get- Her- Angry." The Mirror told her, she knew that the mirror was correct. That if she let garnet know about the Mirror, Garnet will be angry with her for not telling her sooner and Garnet's anger was... not wanted.

"Alright you got a point... What do you want me to do?' asked Pearl with a bit of suspicion.

"Set-Me-Free-From-This-Prison-Please" The Mirror requested her.

"How do I do that?" She asked as her worries began to give way to curiosity.

"..." The Mirror then showed her a visual guide of pulling the gem out of the mirror.

She bit her lower lip, she knew this was wrong she knew she should ignore the mirror and show it to Garnet, becau-

"Please-I-Need-Your-Help-You're-My-Only-Salvation-PLEASE-PEARL." The Mirror pleaded, though the differences were that the voices it used were of the children she helped... This Gem needed her, it needed her like the children she met... and did not help.

Without thinking she grasped the gemstone and began to pull with all her strength, desperately trying to pull the free from its prison.

All around her an intricate woven pattern began to form in water of the rooms varied pools as she struggled, all the while the mirror creaked and cracked under the strain. At last with her energy fading Pearl put all of her remaining strength into one final tug; the ancient mirror could take no more as it finally shattered into dozens of peaces. The gemstone imprisoned on its back was finally free at last. Immediately the deep blue colored gem with the shape of a teardrop floated free from her hands as the Gem within began to reform and reshape herself.

As the the gem began to take shape, she could see the gem's chosen form, a female figure, the outfit was something similar to an old fashioned summer dress, and the girls skin a light blue like a clear ocean's surface. As the girls form finally took shape, her eyes begin to open as the Gem simply extend their hand out towards Pearl in a gesture of friendly greating common to humans.

"Hello, I'm Lapis."

 **A/N: Sorry ofr the long wait College got the better of me, hopefully the next chapter doesn't take me that long to finish. Also I would like to thank Pinheadh78 for helping me with this Chapter again, since without you I'll still be stuck trying to edit this. Also any critique of this is greatly apprecaited.**


	3. You Rascal You

**You Rascal You**

 **A/N: First I would like to thank fellow author Pinhead78 again in helping me with this Chapter. Also an apology for this chapter taking too long, I sadly had car accident, that forced me to recover from and had to deal with the insurance part. The good news I'm fully recovered. Hopefully I could update it sooner.**

 _ **I'll be glad when you're dead, you know I'm gonna be so happy when you're gone. - Louis Armstrong "You Rascal You"**_

Garnet's fist impacted against the monstrosity that was once a Spinel, the corrupted Gem let out a pained screech, as it continued to struggle against Garnet's grasp. Its thin insect like limbs desperately to trying to impale her, though with decreasing success as its hard shell of a body wriggled desperately for freedom. But all of it was in vain as the more the Spinel struggled the more frustrated Garnet became.

" _Why couldn't this insolent bug-like gem just give up to the inevitable, so she could move on to the next mission? Or maybe she could patched things up with Pearl and apologize from that "punching incident" so they could be a family aga-_ "

Her thoughts were interrupted when the corrupted Spinel finally managed to impaled her leg with one of its insect like limbs. Garnet cried pain, before grabbing each of its limbs, and ripping it of its body in a fit of rage at the injury.

The Spinel withered in pain as it struggled unsuccessfully to break free from the fusions boiling anger. As Garnet ripped off the last of its legs, her vision turned red as the corrupted gem still refused to poof prompting her to punch endlessly at the the Spinel tearing away more of its body as it fought desperately to survive the onslaught. Finally her anger began to fade as she released what was left of the Spinel to fall to the cavern's floor, panting for breath she gazed at its glitching form; its body was mostly gone, only the head with its gem and some glitching segments remained but still it refused to give up its form.

Astonished at its defiance, Garnet shook off the momentary pity that threatened to well up and divide her; the job wasn't done yet. Sighing to herself she settled on the final solution to the corrupted gem. As she approached its head its single eye turned to glare at her, anger mixed with what was almost defiant mirth radiated back at her. "I'm sorry Spinel, I was angry at someone else and you've suffered for it, I'll make the pain go away" but as she reached out to grasp its Gem the head twisted around and spat acid at her nearly hitting Sapphires Gem.

Something snapped within her, when that happened, instead of trying to yank the gem off of it, she added pressure. The Spinel renewed its howl's of pain as the pressure rapidly increased until a faint crack was heard. Releasing the gem Garnet watched in shock as its form poofed to dust leaving in its wake the Spinel's gem, cleanly fractured into several small pieces. Garnet leaned back to rest against the cavern wall as she closed her eyes as a sudden wave of exhaustion pressed down on her like none she'd ever felt before. After a few minutes the weight seemed to lessen enough for her to stand, only a dull ache remained as she began the long slow walk back to the warp-pad. The mission was finally complete.

Ω

"Ok Lapis, I need you to stay here for the moment, I promise that I'll be back soon." Pearl called as she stepped through the temple portal to the beach outside. A moment later the sound of the portal closing marked the beginning of another long wait stuck in the other gem's room.

It's been several days since Lapis had been freed from that accursed mirror and she was feeling a mix of boredom and impatience, but mostly the latter. Though it has seemed that she might have exchanged one prison for another, since Pearl continues to refuse to let her leave Pearl's room. Though, yes she could see if she could be found out from either of her liberator's compatriots if she wasn't careful, but it doesn't mean she should be left here for however long it took Pearl to find a housing solution.. She yearned to feel the wind against her face, the feeling of the sun's warmth... she wanted to be free. Unfortunately the the only way to have the freedom she desperately wanted, was in the hands of a mentally damaged and defective Pearl. Yes she could have left Pearl when she was released from the prison of a mirror. Yet, she felt a bit of sympathy towards Pearl, and the thought of leaving her had sat awful towards her. Maybe, because she had witnessed and experienced, through a viewer's' perspective from the mirror, Pearl's vain attempt of finding the young half Gem. She had seen all of it, both the good and the bad experiences from the search, all of which made her pity the broken Pearl, even to the point that she is willing to help her out, or at least entertain her delusions a little while longer before she left or maybe giving Pearl a companion. Sighing again she resigned herself to simply sit and wait for Pearl to return.

Ω

Pearl left the beach house, to continue her search for a temporary hideout for her new partner after dark to help maintain a still low profile in the small town. But the search wasn't going well as most of abandoned buildings within Beach City were un-usually occupied by the town's less fortunate inhabitants that night. If the other options were later found to be occupied, when Lapis is moved. It would cause a problem if word reached Amethyst which would later reach Garnet, of what she had done then...could she? No, there has to be another solution. But what other choice would she have if she failed to find a suitable dwelling for Lapis?

She pondered over this dilemma, as she searched throughout the entire city, even heading towards the industrial outskirts, and yet nothing she saw would be suitable for Lapis to stay in hiding. What could she do now? She couldn't let Lapis continue hiding in her room, it would damage her already deteriorated mental health! Sighing mournfully to herself and her situation, Pearl pulled out a single cigarette, put it on her mouth, then lit it. After a long drag she exhaled the flavorful smoke as she idly started blowing smoke rings as she thought. It's been awhile since she had enjoyed the earthy raw flavor of tobacco, it was one of the few things she dearly enjoyed as being a gem the toxic smoke was harmless to her. As she rested she stared at the half-empty pack in her hands, another long drag, another few smoke rings. Yes, she could smoke another two or three of these to get the nerves off of her perhaps with a couple drinks of alcohol if only there was a bar near her-

"Hey Pearl, it's been so long" a familiar voice called out, breaking her train of thought. Turning around towards the source, her eyes widened as she saw aged face of Greg Universe. Time did not seem to have been merciful towards him, the long waving hair had withered, either a by-product of neglect or stress, his beard was unkempt. As she watched him approach the most striking part of his appearance was his eyes... where once they were bright and full of life, now they were only the eminence of a broken soul. She knew, from her previous meetings with him, that the sudden disappearance had hit Greg harder than it did toward the Gems. She smiled sympathetically towards him.

"Greg, it has been a long time since we last met, how are you?" she asked; her voice conveying her weariness despite her efforts to hide it.

If Greg had picked up on it he didn't show it as he scratched at the back of his head and shrugged. "It's been fine, I still been having a bit trouble finding a job, but eh what can you do. But besides that what are doing you here? I thought you were helping the other Gems with fighting those corrupted Gems?" He inquired brightly as he flickers of happier times filled his memories.

Pearl allowed a smile at this, good old Greg, never one to let his pain show on the outside. But what to say, she couldn't tell him the whole truth, but perhaps a partial truth would suffice to put off any awkward avenues of discussion. "Oh you see, I was looking for a place to stay for a while. Let's say that Garnet and I, aren't in a very good condition to interact for a while".

"Really, well I could provide a place to stay." He said to her as he tugged thoughtfully at his scraggly beard. After a moment of thought his eyes flicked over to the distant hills as he seemed to remember something

"Thanks but I'd prefer not live in your van Greg, no offense." replied Pearl as she smiled awkwardly at the thought. Nope, not going down that road.

Greg chuckled at the rejection as if he was privy to some secret joke that only he knew as he waved his hands in a gesture of dismissal. "None taken, but I meant you could stay in a barn that my cousin Andy has, he isn't currently using it, so it could be fine." He suggested as he gestured to some old buildings just faintly visible in the moonlight against the dark hills

"Really? Does anyone visit that barn?" She asked, there was no hiding the hint of hope that had seeped into her voice as she steeled herself for the response.

"As far as I know … no, it's been left collecting dust." affirmed Greg with a shrug. "It's too far off the main road for regular traffic, just the odd cow here and there wandering in from the nearby farms but they don't stay long."

"That's wonderful, I'll get my some of my belongings and go there." She said happily, she finally found a place for Lapis to stay. With that she turned to head back to the temple, "I'll be in touch!" she shouted over her shoulder as she ran.

Ω

Garnet approached the Crystal Gate, activating the gem on the gate towards Pearl's room. She was going to apologize from what happened in her "Punching Incident" with Pearl, which caused their relationship to further deteriorate, She came to the conclusion... or more specifically Sapphire came to the conclusion if the Crystal Gems could be a family again, Garnet needs to apologise, while Ruby reluctantly agreed, it seems that this agreement was more one sided. And with that Garnet began to open the Gate towards Pearl's Room.

"..." Any word , as she saw a slim blue gem sitting with its close to its chest, its head pointed towards the watery floor in deep contemplation.. She was about to quesition who this gem was and why was it in Pearl's room, until her caught the sight of the its cracked gem... Its cracked gem... cracked gem...like the one in the mirror...

 _By the Diamonds did Pearl... No...She wouldn't...but..._ Sapphire reasoned

 _Of Course Pearl did... That idiot...Now it's up to them to fix Pearl's_ _ **mistake**_ Ruby countered with a growing rage.

 _No, they could first find out why Pearl did it, if she did_

 _They already knew, WHY, Pearl wanted to find more answers of Steven's where about, but she was tricked into letting this GEM out of its prison despite the risk of it being corrupted or worse one loyal towards the Homeworld_

 _B-but this gem could be a friend or be convinced to join their cause_

 _NO! This gem is too much of a risk, one could even see that this Gem is Lapis, a gem that could reach homeworld and tell the Diamonds about the Crystal Gems_ _._

 _B-but they could... Yes...yes it's true this gem possesses too much of the threat for it to be left alone without any supervision._

Sighing, Garnet, summoned her gauntlets, and prepared to poof the blue gem.

Ω

Lapis had sat in the same position for hours waiting for Pearl to finally return; the slow passage of time was at least eased by the soothing water features of Pearl's room. As she sat she reflected on the events that had lead her to this point, the entrapment in the mirror, endless eons reduced to an appliance, being freed then finally stuck here, in a new kind of prison. At least it had more room.

At long last the sound of the gate doors opening signaled the end of her long wait for the other Gem's return. But rather than rush to Pearl for news and betray her frustrated state, she opted to remain crouched and wait until Pearl called to get her attention to relay, hopefully, good news. Seconds passed like minutes as she waited but yet she didn't hear Pearl's voice... Nor any noise for that matter except for some splashes of water... How odd. She turned her head bit to see what was going on with Pearl.

To her shock and distress, she saw not the delusioned Pearl... but instead the de facto leader of the Gems; Garnet. Lapis eyed the gem, as she carefully, ever so slowly rose to her feet so as to not trigger a hostile response. It was easy to see that the new arrival was upset, her body language conveying a barely contained anger. The two eyed each other for a brief period, each assessing the other, daring the other to make the first move be it for a fight or for talk.

Garnet summoned her gauntlets.

Lapis smirked, " _so much for the peaceful path_."

Readying herself for the coming battle Lapis centered herself then reached out to grasp the surrounding water. Though she had very little direct experience fighting other gems she wasn't worried, at least not very much. True she doesn't have her water wings due to her damaged gem, but she knew her power and what her hydrokinesis could do with the large amount of surrounding water in the room.

Lapis was patient, she'd waited thousands of years already, she would let Garnet make the first move as she readied her defense and counterattack.

Garnet's attack came with little warning as the powerful fusion erupted into a motion to charge towards her. Lapis waited a moment for the other gem to fully commit to the attack before manipulating the surrounding water into long slender tendrils. Dodging the charge she lifted herself into the air on a column of water as the tendrils rose up all around Garnet to rapidly restrain her opponent. Lapis grinned to herself, _to easy_ as she formed the tendrils into a huge watery fist with which she began smash her opponent into the solid rock walls of the chamber.

Ω

Garnet was furious with herself as she endured the latest crushing impact against the rock wall. Pressed against the rock by the water-club she willed herself to keep her form. _Fine mess you've gotten us into. Talking wasn't going to work._

Whatever the next part of the argument was cut off by a pained shriek as she was once again ground against the rock then tossed like a doll across the room.

But in its haste to eliminate their foe the Blue Gem had made an error, for in flinging her across the room, the water-fist had lost its grip on Garnet. Garnet landed on her feet then immediately dogged out of the way of the fist as it attempted to grab her. Using the distraction to her advantage Garnet rushed her opponent, this time randomly dodging left and right to avoid the tendrils.

Ω

Lapis knew she'd messed up her advantage, but she could still win this, she had to. Sighing to herself she switched tactics, instead of a single large fist or clump of tendrils, she summoned multiple smaller groups of both. She dared not risk firing her rocket-gauntlets for fear a miss or and the long recharge time.

Ω

Garnet was on the offensive as she dodged through the increasingly dense field of caltrops having given herself over to future vision to guide her charge.

Ω

 _NO! NO NO NO NO!_ Shouted Lapis as Garnet finally closed the distance to get within range of those very dangerous gauntlets. In a last desperate attempt at escape she summoned a wall of water between them but it was no use.

The last thing Lapis saw was the enraged face of Garnet, her eyes burning with an anger she'd thought only reserved for the Diamonds. Then she felt only a burning, searing, pain as the gauntlet connected with her face sending the world into darkness.

Ω

The moon was beginning to set, dawn was still a few hours away but to the keen eyes of a gem, its color was already starting to lighten. Pearl was ecstatic with her success at finding a temporary home for Lapis as she ascended the stairs of the breach house. After so many hard years it finally seemed that everything was going to be alright after all, that there was a glimmer of hope again.

Still smiling as she opened the Beach House door she hadn't gone two steps into the beach house proper when her bright mood came crashing down. There in the center of the room, wearing somber expressions, where the remaining two Crystal Gems. Garnet had both hands behind her back, hiding something.

"Um, hello everyone, I didn't expect you to be out at this late hour" said Pearl awkwardly, it was clear that something was up, something bad.

"Pearl... Did you know of a any other Gems that hiding here?" asked Garnet, her voice hard and demanding rather than her usual calm inquiries.

" N-n-n-no why did you ask?" She lied terribly, hoping that the growing fear in her belly wasn't justified, that somehow there was some _other_ gem around.

Garnet frowned, "I'm asking because of this." With that she showed what she had been hiding behind her back. Lapis' gem contained in a red bubble.

Pearl narrowed her eyes, as the fear that had been building within suddenly surged in strength, with it she found her voice to speak. She would not lose this chance, there was hope again, she was _not_ going to let Garnet crush it.

"Now, Pearl... tell me why did you free her from the Mirror and why didn't you tell us after freeing her." Garnet asked. Her voice low with an edge of anger behind it.

Pearl held her own ground as she replied putting as much force as she could muster into her words. "... I did it...so I could find Steven, she could have helped me find him. She has records, knowledge, abilities I need to continue the search."

Garnet hesitated for a moment as she considered her answer. _This wasn't un-expected, we know how she feels, how desperate she still is. This can't continue. We must convince her to give up, its a lost cause._ This time, her voice was soft, the anger allowed to drain away, at least for a moment. "Pearl... He is never going to be found, despite the times you try, you'll never find him. We need you here in case Peridot sends more of her drones. Your duty to defend this planet and ensure its safety is greater than your idiotic failed quest to find Steven."

Pearl just stared at her former leader in shock, her prepared argument died on her breath at the cold bluntness of the statement. _Idiotic Quest! Failed!?_ She could feel a slow burning rage creeping up. But she bit her tongue, for as angry as she was feeling it wouldn't due to further degrade an already tedious position.

"Pearl can't you see, that you can't find him, it's impossible, all you're going to do is drown yourself in alcohol and nicotine after this next failed attempt. To try suppress your own self-induced misery at the betrayal of your planet and oaths! Can't you get that beyond your stubborn head!" shouted Garnet as the combined frustration of her two halfs briefly united in their need to get through to their ancient friend. _I think we're reaching her, just a bit more and we might sway her!_

"Garnet! That's enough" Amethyst interjected, with a shout loud enough to startle the two verbal combatants into silence. Letting out a heavy sigh she continued speaking, her voice soft and comforting as she took a step towards Pearl. "Listen P, I know that you want to find Steven, but can you at least put it on hold for a while? If not for us, but for Steven. Because if we don't stop Peridot's drones, then the Earth with Steven in it might not exist anymore It would all be wasted. Besides, its clear you need to take a break, to re-evaluate and regroup!"

Garnet nodded approvingly at the young gem's wise words.

Pearl remained silent as she pondered this new perspective on recent events. _Amethyst was right, she needs to focus on the priorities that still require her to defend the Earth first, before her own quest. Maybe her search for Steven has become more of a destructive obsession, yes. She could give in with her demands of giving up her search... for a while_. But first she needs to know one thing. "What will you do with Lapis?" She asked at long last.

"We will continue to keep her bubbled, until we can properly restrain her then interrogate her for information." Garnet bluntly replied.

Pearl nearly fell to her feet at this revelation; her mind going white with a single over-riding thought. _No...no...no. NO, Lapis needed her, like the children she found before. And unlike the others, she will not abandon her._

Before Garnet could react, Pearl summoned her spear, then with perfect aim, fired at the bubbled gem. For a moment, it seemed that time had slowed to a standstill, as the single energy bolt crossed the room to hit its target. Rather than destroy the bubbled gem, the half-power bolt instead popped the bubble releasing the gem within to fall to the floor with a soft tink.

Garnet stood frozen in place, a red hot anger, like few she'd ever felt even during the rebellion years flared to life within her. She rushed towards Pearl. Just as the re-enforced, fire enveloped gauntlet was about to smash into Pearl's face, something had tripped her. Turning around to see what had stalled her attack her anger flared hotter as she saw Amethyst's whip wrapped around her legs.

Amethyst looked at Pearl, a crazed kind of eagerness in her eyes. "Go, I'll hold her off"

Pearl nodded, wasting no time she snatched up Lapis' gem, before heading out of the house. Moving as fast as she'd ever moved in her existence she reached her motorcycle then rode away from Beach City... for the last time.

 **A/N: Yes I know it's a late update, but sadly my education comes first. Besides that, the Las Vegas Shooting, kinda stopped me due to it hitting too close to home. Chapter Five will be in the process of writing and hopefully published in the late December. Again a special thanks to Pinheadh8 for helping me editing this beast, of a chapter. Go check out his fanfic called "Pearl in WW2" you won't regret it.**


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